Sunday, August 6, 2017

Russians Struggling with ‘Psychological Deportation of Russia’ from the Rest of the World, Psychologist Says

Paul
Goble

Stanton, August 5 – Since the
shooting down of the Malaysian airliner, Novaya
gazeta journalist Galina Mursaliyeva says, have been dealing with “the
unbearable situation of their own powerlessness” to define their position
relative to that action and to the outside world which blames their country for
it.

Also participating in the discussion
was the academician’s son, Grigory, who was visiting Moscow for a few days. He
is currently working on his doctorate in communications at the London School of
Economics. He shared not only his academic expertise but also his experiences
living among Russian expats in Britain.

The academician said that the
shooting down of the Boeing jet divided the world. Before then, people in the
West could talk about Russian barbarism and Russians could respond; but after
that event, people in the West took what they saw as an act of barbarity
personally and began to treat Russians as “untouchables.”

Because ordinary people in the West
came to that conclusion, their leaders, who are much more dependent on popular
attitudes than are Russian ones, could not fail to respond to the situation by
taking an ever harder line.Many people
now talk about an information war, but what we are seeing, the academician says
is “a psychological one.”

And in that war, Russians have used “practically
all the mechanisms of psychological defense” – including projection,
rationalization, and compensation Russians must recognize that they are in a
difficult situation but also that they are becoming “the product of
manipulation … from the most varied sides.”

Grigory Asmolov
says that in his experience Russians are transferring this personalization of
the conflict into their own relations with other Russians. Before the shoot
down, there was “a certain distance between the media and personal
communications.” But that has broken down, and it is splitting families and
friends even in social networks.

“In recent months,” he continues, “we
observe an enormous number of breakdowns in social links, among friends,
classmates, and colleagues. This is connected with distancing friends in social
networks.” But it is leading to a situation in which “people are ceasing to
comment on anything.”

“Some are simply closing down their Internet
pages,” Grigory Asmolov says. “This is a heavy socio-psychological trauma and
its impact will be longer than the conflict itself. The breakdown of the social
structure is a dangerous trend, which is chock full of far reaching
consequences.”

His academician father agrees.The shooting down of the Malaysian jetliner
whatever the ultimate facts of the case prove to be has led to the “psychological
deportation” of Russians from the rest of the world and left them “hostages of
this deportation.”Overcoming that is
going to be difficult and take a long time.

To move forward, he says, Russians
must “vaccinate” themselves by developing critical thinking and showing that
they are capable of responding to each situation. Otherwise they will be
reduced to the status of “irresponsible” zombies.

At present, the academician
concludes, the shooting down of the Malaysian plane has “cast doubt on the myth
that a civil society has arisen in Russia. We have become victims of collective
affect. The bell today is ringing over the embryo of civil society in Russia.”